Botox Can Help Treat Bladder DisordersHealthDay via Health24Many still think of Botox as a wrinkle smoother, but new research shows the toxin's growing list of medical uses now includes the treatment of two common causes of urinary frequency, urgency and incontinence. Scientists have found that Botox (botulinum toxin A) — the same toxin that causes the life-threatening type of food poisoning known as botulism — may be used in place of surgery or other invasive treatments for stubborn cases of conditions causing bladder control problems.

Dogs Can Sniff Out Prostate Cancer in UrineReutersHighly-trained dogs are able to detect prostate cancer in urine with 98 percent accuracy, according to a study presented on May 18 at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in Orlando, Florida. "This study gives us a standardized method of diagnosis that is reproducible, low-cost and non-invasive," said lead author Dr. Gianluigi Taverna, chief of the prostatic diseases unit at the Humanitas Research Hospital in Milan.

Marker May Predict Midurethral Sling OutcomesUrology TimesA marker of collagen turnover proved to be the most predictive test for outcome after midurethral sling procedures, the authors of a multicenter study reported.
N-terminal telopeptide of cross-linked type 1 collagen was associated with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.702, which was significantly better than the Valsalva leak point pressure or maximum urethral closing pressure.

Observation, Two-Midnight Rules Hit in HearingHealthLeaders MediaHospital leaders testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee derided Medicare's two-midnight and observation rules, saying that not only are the policies not working, they've also added huge costs and quality issues for providers and patients.

Millennials, Boomers Want Different Healthcare ConveniencesInformation WeekThe Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, better known as HCAHPS (pronounced H-caps), is the national, standardized, publicly reported survey of patients' perspectives of hospital care — an increasingly important metric as hospitals learn to treat patients more like consumers and pay more attention to consumer choice.

Following Abuses, Medicare Tightens Reigns on Its Drug ProgramNPRThe federal government has granted itself potent new authority to expel physicians from Medicare if they are found to prescribe drugs in abusive ways, following through on a proposal issued earlier this year. Under the rule finalized on Monday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also will compel health providers to enroll in Medicare to order medications for patients covered by its drug program, known as Part D.

Study: HPV Infects Two-Thirds of Healthy AmericansTIMEA new study has found that more than two-thirds of healthy American adults have been infected with at least one strain of human papillomavirus, but a "delicate balancing" act across 109 different strains frequently renders the sexually-transmitted disease dormant and harmless.

50 Percent of Americans Take Prescription DrugsCNNAbout half of all Americans take at least one prescription drug each month, and 10 percent take more than four, according to a new government report. "Health, United States, 2013" is an annual report on the nation’s health prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. This year's report includes a special section on prescription drugs.

Doctors Check Online Ratings from Patients and Make ChangeThe Wall Street JournalTo find a good restaurant, we can check any number of online reviews. To select a doctor, however, many of us rely on a single recommendation, or even a random search through the Yellow Pages. A growing number of doctor-review websites are aiming to change that by allowing people to rate physicians in much the same way they would a sushi dinner or haircut.